Three to Ride

Chapter Three

Rye Harper sat behind his desk and considered the numerous problems Rachel Swift had brought into his peaceful life. So peaceful it was boring, he sighed inwardly. Rachel was the most exciting thing to happen to him in a long time. The only problem was Rachel hadn’t happened to him. She’d happened to Max.

The phone rang out at his secretary’s desk. “Callie! Phone!” Rye yelled from the comfort of his little office.

A short figure with dark hair flew past the open door in her attempt to get to the phone. She was pushing her smart little glasses further up on her nose. “Got it!” she screamed before she answered the phone. “Bliss County Sheriff’s Department.” Her voice was now brisk and professional.

Rye listened for a second while drumming his fingers along the desktop.

“No, Mel, I’m so sorry. I really don’t have any CIA connections,” Callie was saying in a soothing voice. It could only mean one thing.

Rye let his head fall to the desk. He would have to go out to Mel’s and pretend to check for bugs again. If he didn’t, the old fellow would sit in Stella’s diner for hours telling anyone and everyone who came in that Bliss was a focal point for the coming invasion. The locals might ignore him, but he tended to freak out the tourists, and it was tourist season. The last thing he needed was to get called into another meeting of the Bliss County Chamber of Commerce, where he regularly got raked over the coals.

He thought back to last night, when Max had come home late with the dippiest grin on his face. Rye had known in an instant that his brother had fucked Rachel Swift, and probably more than once. Max had the look of a well-satisfied man. He also had the look of a man who’d fallen completely in love. Rye couldn’t help it. He was brutally jealous of his brother’s happiness.

Maybe it wasn’t the same for Max as it was for him. For as long as he could remember, Rye had always fallen for the same girls as Max. It was almost like there was a link between them. When Max saw something he liked, Rye was sure to follow. It explained the deep connection he felt to her the minute he’d met her. Rye had known the instant he looked at the pretty waitress that she was important. He might not be able to read Max’s every thought, but when his brother felt something deeply, Rye felt it, too.

Max had been serious about going the vanilla route. Rye had tried to get him interested in Janine, the hot brunette from Creede, but Max wouldn’t go for it. Now, it looked like Max was ready to start his life, and Rye was going to be left alone. It wasn’t the way he’d envisioned his life. Always in the back of his mind, he’d thought that they would find one woman and settle down. For a while he’d thought that woman would be Nina, but now, looking at Rachel, he knew that had been a mistake. Nina was too hard to ever be at the center of their ménage. She would have taken everything they had and given nothing back.

“Hey, boss.” Callie interrupted his thoughts, and he lifted his head off the desk.

Rye tried to look like he wasn’t moping. “Yeah, I know. I gotta get my ass out to Mel’s and look for alien technology. Get the Detector 3000.”

Callie snorted. “I’ll make sure to get that for you. I’ll also tell Stefan that we’ll need to move up to the 4000 model soon. Mel is worried because alien technology apparently changes often.”

Stefan Talbot was an artist who worked with everything from oils on canvas to metals. He’d been the one to come up with the idea of the Detector 2000. It was a Wii controller with some modifications. It had some lights and made some high-tech sounds. Mel had been impressed but after six months had wondered if there wasn’t an even more sophisticated device. Aliens were tricky little bastards.

“I’ll let him know,” Rye said. He reached out for his hat. “Anything else? Did Logan go out and talk to the nudists?” Max had pitched a small fit about it last night, and Rye had made a note to send his deputy out to handle it. Rye attributed the fact that the fit was such a small thing to his brother’s state of sexual satisfaction. He wondered briefly how he was going to handle it when Rachel started staying the night at their house. How was he going to stand sleeping alone when his brother was right next door, fucking the woman of their dreams?

“Yes, and they prefer to be called naturists.” Callie’s mother had run the naturist community for years. It was Callie who always reminded him to be tolerant toward the clothing-challenged. “Logan went out this morning, and it’s a good thing, too. We’ve had four reports of 503’s since yesterday afternoon.”

Rye groaned. A 503 was Bliss County’s code for a naked penis sighting. A 504 referred to naked females, but strangely, almost no one ever called that in. “Yeah, they’re all about the nature walk right now. It’s wildflower time. I just hope they don’t go too high into the mountains. I would hate for the damn bears to try to mate with one of them.”

Callie laughed. “I was talking to Bill, and he was really excited about all the activities they have planned for the summer. You should know that the men are planning a warrior-in-the-buff outing. There’ll be lots of chanting and drumming.”

The sheriff sighed. Bill Hartman owned the land the commune was on. Rye was just about to give him a call when he noticed how enthused Callie looked. Callie loved that commune and all the people who lived there. They had made sure her mother had been comfortable while she lost her long-term battle with cancer. Callie was perfectly comfortable spending a lot of her free time with the naturists. Rye shook his head as he looked at the woman who was as close to him as a sister. He always made sure he called before he showed up at her cabin to avoid getting a show. “Put it on the calendar, please. And remind me to buy some industrial-strength earplugs. If they keep Max awake, he’ll make the bears look soft and cuddly.” If he even noticed over all the noise Rye was sure Rachel made. She looked like a screamer. The quiet ones were always tigers in bed.

“I heard Max has a new girl.” Callie’s tone was soft, and Rye heard sympathy creeping into her voice. “You okay with that?”

Callie had been his assistant for five years. She’d taken the job when he became the sheriff. Rye knew not much got by Callie Sheppard.

“Sure,” Rye lied, plastering a smile on his face. “I think it’s great that Max is happy.”

He felt her eyes on him. It was the look of a too perceptive little sister figuring out exactly what her big brother didn’t want her to discover. Callie shook her head. “Do you really think this whole ‘dating apart’ thing will work out? Don’t you think you’re fighting your nature a bit?”

“Tell Max that,” Rye said morosely. He didn’t even try to keep things like that from Callie. She tended to see through him. “He doesn’t think I’ll ever find what I want as long as he’s around. Then he goes out and finds Rachel.”

“And you like her, too.” Callie’s brown eyes watched him, studying his responses. At times like this, she reminded him of a cute little owl.

Rye shrugged. “She’s okay, I guess.”

“Right,” she said, seemingly unconvinced.

Callie started to play with her shoulder-length brown hair. Rye knew that look. Callie knew something and wasn’t sure she should tell. Callie was the worst gossip in the county, and it looked like Rachel was already on her radar.

“Spit it out.”

Callie bit her bottom lip, and her eyes slid away from his face. “I don’t know if I should.”

Rye was unwilling to play games. He wanted to know what was up with Rachel. It was obvious she was in trouble, and he needed to be ready for it. She belonged to Max, and Max’s happiness was important to Rye. “Tell me, or you’re fired.”

Callie rolled her eyes. “I’m terrified of that threat. Fine. It isn’t anything bad. Rachel seems like a real sweet girl. I just think she’s lying about a few things. She told Stella she was staying at the motel on the outskirts of town.”

Rye shrugged and released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “That’s not so bad. It’s clean, at least.”

“That’s just it, Rye,” Callie continued. “I talked to Gene just yesterday. He’d never heard of her. That motel is his baby. Even if he hadn’t checked her in himself, do you honestly believe he wouldn’t remember her name?”

No, he didn’t believe that for a second. Why would Rachel lie about where she was staying? He thought about the trace he’d put on her earlier this morning. He’d put her name into the system along with her plate number. So far he hadn’t turned up anything, and that was slightly disconcerting. Her Texas driver’s license had come up clean, but he’d gotten nothing else. She didn’t have so much as a traffic ticket. The license listed her address as an apartment in Houston, Texas. Rye was going to call the police there and check it out, but first he needed to figure out where she was staying here.

The phone rang again, and Callie went to answer it.

Rye walked to the closet and took out his soon-to-be obsolete Detector 3000. He made sure all the bells and whistles were working. He sighed while he straightened his tie. It was important to present a professional image when dealing with the crazies of the county. The key was to look like he took them seriously.

Callie was slightly breathless. She hung up the phone as Rye walked into the main office. “You might want to hold off heading to Mel’s.”

“Why?”

She winced. “It appears that Max showed up at the motel with a bunch of roses and was promptly told that Rachel didn’t live there. He’s been yelling ever since.”

“Shit. What’s his ETD?” It was Rye’s own code. It referred to Max’s estimated time of destruction.

“I’d give it about two minutes.”

But it was less than that. As the words left Callie’s mouth, Max walked by the windows of the sheriff’s office. He held a bunch of red roses in one hand, but they’d been through some trauma. Rye whistled as he caught sight of his brother. Big Brother looked like a bull stomping down the street. He plowed through a group of tourists ambling down Main Street.

Rye handed the Detector 3000 to Callie. “Send Logan out when he gets back from dealing with the nudists, naturists, whatever. I’ve got to go save my brother from himself.” Rye jogged out of the office and ran to catch up.

“Hey, buddy, let’s talk about this.” He would try to reason with Max first.

Max stopped in the middle of the street. Rye took a quick step back, not entirely sure his brother couldn’t breathe fire. He looked perfectly capable of it. “There’s not a damn thing to talk about. She lied to me.”

“She’s not staying at the motel. That doesn’t mean she’s shacked up with someone.” He knew exactly what his brother was thinking. Max wouldn’t ever consider more innocent options. He was a worst case scenario kind of guy.

“Then why would she lie?” Max’s mouth was a stubborn line. He shook his head, clutched his sad-looking bouquet, and started walking toward the diner. His boots thudded along the concrete.

Rye fell into step alongside him. This was a familiar place for Rye. He’d spent a good portion of his life being the voice of reason for Max. Of course, Max played his part, too. Whenever Rye got really mad, Max was the one who watched his back. “You need to calm down. Do you really want her to see this side of you?”

“If she didn’t want to see it, she shouldn’t have lied.” Max’s face was set in a mulish stare.

“You’re just going to let your freak flag fly, aren’t you, bro?” Rye asked more to himself than Max.

Max marched to the diner doors and blew through them like the hurricane he was. Rye sighed. There He had to hope Rachel could handle his brother. He kind of thought she could. Rye didn’t bother to follow Max inside. There was nothing he could do now except get in the way. The sight of her beat-up Jeep caught Rye’s eye. There was an awful lot of stuff in the back of that Jeep. He had a suspicion and walked over to confirm it.

A few minutes later, he knew his brother was going to feel really bad about yelling at his honey. She was living out of her car. She didn’t need Max walking in and announcing her lie to the whole town. She was ashamed.

Sure enough, the doors to the diner opened, and Max stumbled out backward. His eyes were wide and his face registered no small amount of shock as he tripped and landed on his ass. Rachel strode out a second later, roses in one hand. She held them over his head and started to beat the hell out of his brother with them.

Rye fell in love right then and there, and knew there was no going back.

Rachel had been thinking about Max all morning. She couldn’t get the previous afternoon out of her mind. She walked around the diner in a pleasant daze, images of Max in her brain.

He’d been everything she could want in a lover.

After they’d gotten out of the pond and dried off, Max had taken a blanket she kept in the back and laid it out under a big cluster of aspen trees. He’d laid her down and spread her legs. Rachel could still feel his mouth on her. He’d parted her labia and gently licked every inch of her slick pussy. Rachel loved the rough feel of his beard on the soft skin of her inner thighs. Her whole body flushed remembering the way he’d fucked her with his tongue.

She felt a slow smile come across her face. Her man might not know it, but she intended to pay him back tonight. She was going to get that big cock of his in her mouth, and she wasn’t letting go until she’d blown his mind. Rachel checked the clock. It was almost one. Her shift ended at four, and then she had a couple of hours to get to the motel and check in. She winced at the thought of spending $24.99, but told herself it was just one night. She wanted a night in a real bed with Max. She would get to sleep pressed up against his warm body. The only thing that might be better would be sleeping with Max on one side and Rye on the other.

Rachel shook her head. That wasn’t happening. Max had spent a good portion of the previous day talking about his brother. It was obvious they were close. Max had painted a picture of a funny, charming, caring guy who would make someone a good husband. It didn’t matter how nice Ryan Harper was, he was a cop, and she didn’t want to have anything to do with him. There was too much at stake. Besides, she wasn’t that girl. She was a perfectly normal girl on the run from a murderous stalker, and perfectly normal girls didn’t get involved with alternative lifestyles.

“I’m telling you, he’s up to something,” Hank Welch said with a suspicious look in his eyes.

Rachel remembered Hank was the feed store owner. He ran the Bliss County Feed Store Church. He was also a pastor. The feed store portion of his business was closed on Sundays when he held services. He sat across from Teeny Greene, who ran the trading post with her life partner, Marie. Teeny was a little bird of a woman with big brown eyes and a tiny frame. Hank was a small man, but Teeny made him look almost normal.

“I made a mistake and shorted him on his feed. When I offered to fix it, do you know what he said?”

“Probably something you shouldn’t repeat.” Teeny’s eyes were wide as she waited.

Hank took a long drink of his iced tea. “He told me not to worry about it. He said he had plenty for the horses he has right now. He told me I could make up for it with next week’s delivery. He’s going to kill me, Teeny. I always knew he’d go psycho killer on us one of these days.”

“He is not a psycho killer.” Rachel was unable to remain silent. She knew exactly who they were talking about. Despite Bliss’s odd population, there was only one citizen who everyone believed might go crazy one day. “Max Harper is a reasonable man. He knows you’ll make up for the mistake, and that there’s no reason to get angry. Anger doesn’t solve problems. It just causes more.”

Teeny leaned over and whispered something in Hank’s ear. The feed store owner smiled broadly. “Are you serious? A dozen?”

She nodded. “He made Marie take all the thorns out so she wouldn’t cut herself.”

Hank stood up and slapped a twenty down. “Well, that puts a different spin on things.”

Rachel was very confused, but picked up the twenty. “I’ll get your change.”

He shook his head. “None needed, Miss Rachel. You just keep Max happy, and there’s more where that came from. You’ll have a whole town worshipping the ground you walk on if Max Harper is a happy man.” He strode out before Rachel could protest.

Stella walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Rachel stared down at the twenty. His bill had been $4.98. She turned to Stella, her mouth hanging slightly open. “Did I just…?” She couldn’t quite bring herself to say it.

Stella didn’t have the same problem. “I think you just got paid for sleeping with Max. Next time, hold out for more, hon.”

Rachel shook her head and stalked over to the cash register. She could feel herself blushing furiously. “How do people know about that?”

Stella laughed loud and long. “This is a small town, Rachel. Get used to it. Everybody is up in everybody else’s business.”

Teeny grinned. “Besides, Max walked into the store about an hour ago and took all of the roses we got in yesterday. He told Marie we should order in some lilies. He said lilies are your favorite flower.”

Rachel flushed. He’d asked her about flowers yesterday. He’d been running a wildflower over her naked breasts at the time. “I do like lilies.”

The door to the diner flew open, and Rachel looked up, startled at the sound. Max stood in the doorway, and the expression on his face seemed to mean something to everyone else. He wore jeans and a Western shirt with pearl snaps. His boots had been polished to a shine. His Stetson was shoved on his head, and he didn’t bother to take it off. All around her, customers started whispering, and a couple of people dove for cover.

Stella sighed, her eyes rolling. “I’ll try to protect the tourists. Hon, now would be a good time for you to run.”

Rachel stared at Max, who was glaring right back at her. He targeted her and didn’t pay any attention to the rest of the diner. His gorgeous face was locked in an unholy grimace, but she didn’t feel a need to run. Rachel had met a truly evil man, and Max just didn’t fit the bill. He could growl all he liked. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her. He, on the other hand, might not be able to say the same. If she was about to meet the Mr. Hyde part of Max, he’d better get ready to deal with her inner bitch.

“You got a problem with something, Max?” She put one hand on her hip. She didn’t know what had happened. She only knew she wasn’t backing down.

“You better believe I got a problem, baby,” he drawled, but didn’t come any closer.

She could see she’d thrown him off by standing her ground. Obviously Max was used to intimidating people. Her heart did a little flip-flop as she wondered if this wasn’t Max’s way of getting out of the relationship now that he’d gotten what he wanted. He’d seemed so sweet yesterday. He’d been attentive and kind to her even when they weren’t making love. She could have sworn he regretted having to leave her for the night. A part of her had started to believe his whole “I’m crazy about you” routine. Maybe it was just a part of Max’s game. It wouldn’t be the first time a man had lied to get into her pants. She took a deep breath.

She really wished they didn’t have an audience. She leaned in to try to keep the conversation between them. “You don’t need to make a scene, Max. I get it. It was fun while it lasted. I won’t bother you. I’m not some clinging vine. I thought I made it clear to you yesterday. Just make sure you sit in Stella’s or Jen’s section the next time you come in for lunch.” She pointedly pulled out her order form and made her way to table ten. She ignored the angry bull in the room and smiled pleasantly at the couple watching the scene with anxious eyes.

“Is everything all right, ma’am?” The man’s eyes kept darting between her and Max.

Rachel waved her hand. “He’s just a drama queen. Have you decided on lunch?”

“Drama queen?” Max’s shout rang through the little diner.

Rachel sighed. He obviously wanted a big scene. “Excuse me for a minute. If I were you, I’d stay away from the special. Hal isn’t really what I’d call a French cook. He just watches a lot of Food Network.” She turned back to Max. She didn’t try to hide her annoyance. “Is there something I can do for you, Max? Like I said, this scene is unnecessary. All you have to do is tell me you’re done. If you have something else to say, make it quick. I have a job to do, and I would prefer to not be fired because my one-night stand turned out to be a big idiot.”

His blue eyes were dark. Rachel watched as he clenched his jaw tightly. His words were ground out. “Well, darlin’, mine turned out to be a little liar.”

Rachel was flummoxed. She quickly went over yesterday’s conversation. Most of the time had been spent telling Max how much she loved his tongue and his cock. No lies there. She’d pointedly avoided any talk of her past. “What are you talking about?”

“I just got back from your place, Rach,” Max pointed at her like a lawyer in a courtroom drama. “I thought I’d convince Gene to let me into your room and set up a little surprise. Flowers, champagne, the whole romantic treatment. Only no one there’s ever heard your name.”

Rachel winced inwardly. That explained a lot. She leaned in and lowered her voice. Max might not care about the whole town knowing they were having an affair, but Rachel did. “I was getting a room this afternoon.”

“You lied to me.”

“What does it matter? I fully intend to be there, Max.” Rachel tried to soothe him. She put a hand on his bicep and rubbed. She was pretty sure now that he wasn’t trying to break it off with her. “I wasn’t trying to trick you.”

“I want to know what his name is.”

Rachel went cold and dropped her hand from his arm. She took a step back. She couldn’t believe this was happening again. “Who are you talking about, Max?”

“Whoever it is you’re living with,” he said darkly. “Are you married?”

“No.” There was a little ember of rage that was always in her belly. Most of the time fear drowned out the rage, but Max was stoking that fire, and Rachel felt her hands start to tremble. “I don’t have a boyfriend, either. I thought I might have one, but he turned out to be just another asshole.” She stepped forward and pulled the bouquet of roses out of his hand. His face registered shock as she pushed him back. “You’re the only man I’ve slept with in years. I told you that yesterday, but somewhere along the way, I completely forgot you were a man. Men don’t believe women.”

“Now, Rachel,” Max started with obvious trepidation in his voice. He looked like a man whose whole world had just turned over. He backed up, and she continued to push him. His back hit the diner doors.

“I won’t put up with it, Max!” Rachel no longer cared that they had an audience. “I won’t put up with some possessive asshole who accuses me of cheating every time I’m out of his line of sight.”

“I didn’t exactly accuse you of cheating.” Max muttered something about being wrong just before he tripped and found himself on his ass. His hat came off his head and fell to the side.

It gave Rachel the perfect opportunity to make a few things clear to him. She hit him as hard as she could with the bunch of roses. “You will treat me like a lady, Maxwell Harper. You will politely ask me questions, and you will not accuse me of anything again unless you’re damn sure I’ve done something to deserve it. You will not walk into my place of business and tell the town I’m some sort of harlot. Is that understood?”

Max looked up at her. There were rose petals and greenery in his hair. He looked like he wanted to argue, but he swallowed twice and replied simply, “Yes, baby.”

There was a surprised burst of laughter, and Rachel turned to see the Sheriff standing there. He quickly stopped laughing when she turned on him. “Do you want some of this, too?” She held the sad flowers out threateningly.

“No, ma’am,” he said.

She glared at him. She’d just whacked the hell out of his brother. He might not take kindly to that sort of behavior. “Are you planning to arrest me?”

“No!” Max shouted.

Rye tipped his hat in a gallant gesture. “Ma’am, anyone can see that your assault of my brother’s person was entirely provoked.”

“Good.” Rachel suddenly felt the weight of the entire diner looking at her. She turned, and, sure enough, there were a whole bunch of faces pressed against the glass. Rachel smoothed her apron down and tossed the bouquet on Max’s lap. “I’m going back to work now. You’ll understand if I choose not to see you this evening, Max. I’ve had my fill of men thinking they own me.”

“Rachel—” Max got to his feet.

“Goodbye, Max,” she said. He looked so sad standing there that she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and tell him she forgave him. It was a mistake she couldn’t afford to make. She forced herself to turn and walk back into the diner. She told herself she could cry over him later.

There was a loud cheer as she walked through the doors and got back to work.